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Thread started 02/05/14 7:12am

rozilla

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BBC interview @ Lianne's "Nobody sues their fans"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news...s-26045864

Pop star Prince has played two secret shows in London with his new band 3rd Eye Girl.

An intimate performance for 10 people, held in the living room of his friend, singer Lianne La Havas, was accompanied by a small press conference to announce a series of upcoming UK shows.

Prince announced he wanted to charge "about $10" (£6) for each ticket.

It was followed by a late-night show at Camden's Electric Ballroom, billed by the singer as a "sound check".

Matt Everitt of BBC 6 Music News was one of the few in attendance at the first event on Tuesday and here gives his impressions of what took place.

Lianne La Havas's front room in Leyton, east London, had been turned into a venue, with purple stage lights and acoustic instruments.

It is only about 9ft by 18ft and there was just me, two other journalists, Lianne, her two housemates and Prince's crew - serious-looking sound guys and security (who numbered about 10) - all waiting for the man to turn up. And at 20:15 GMT, he did.

He led his new band - the three piece 3rd Eye Girl - through two new songs from the upcoming album Plectrum Electrum, including the new single PretzelBodyLogic. He described the new tunes as "funk 'n' roll".

Lianne didn't perform with Prince. But she did do a stripped-down performance of the Little Dragon song Twice and a brand new unfinished song off her next album, which has the working title of Shapes.

"I probably feel just as gobsmacked as you and everyone else here. What we've witnessed is very special," she said afterwards.

"I feel very honoured to just know someone who's that great at playing music," she continued.

So this is what we learnt about Prince...

  • 1. He looks phenomenal - afro, huge round purple-tinted sunglasses, black furry jerkin, skin-tight black roll-neck and flares.
  • 2. Prince smells great - I presume he uses Princense.
  • 3. Prince does not like being recorded during interviews. He didn't want to speak into the mic, and there were no photos allowed in the house. That said, he was happy to discuss anything. There were no rules from management about what we could ask.
  • 4. He LOVES his new band. "We've been together for over a year and it's perfect. The more we play, the more fun it is, and addictive it is.'' Much of the new album came out of numerous day-long jamming sessions at his Paisley Park recording studios.
  • 5. Prince doesn't sleep much. He'd appeared at a club in New York to launch the single PretzelBodyLogic at 2am then flown to the UK, landed in London, dropped his bags off at an undisclosed location and then come to Lianne's house.
  • 6. Technically it was the first gig of a UK tour of sorts - or at least the first in a series of shows that Prince intends to play around London, in what he described as "iconic venues". While nothing was confirmed in terms of dates or specifics, he did say he was interested in maybe playing places like Ronnie Scott's, the Bag O'Nails Club (the legendary Soho '60s hang-out that's only recently re-opened) and the Electric Ballroom in London - which is where he played later that night. There were about 100 people there, but as word spread on Twitter more and more turned up.
  • 7. He won't be doing a series of large O2-scale shows like he did in 2007: "That was a different time, this is a different band." But he did say he and his band would "work our way up, if people like us, to bigger venues". When asked how long he'd be here he said his trip was "open-ended", explaining "we're going to be here until people don't want to hear us anymore."
  • 8. It's Purple Rain's 30th anniversary this year but Prince wasn't even aware of that. He looked surprised to be told about it, saying "I hadn't even realised", and was not that interested in looking back at the making of the record. "Everything looks different to me, because I was there. I wrote those songs, I don't need to know what happened," he explained.
  • 9. He's going to keep tickets for the shows cheap. "We want to charge about $10 a ticket. This is a new band, people are getting something new."
  • 10. He likes tea. With lots of Manuka honey. A lot of honey.
  • 11. I asked him about Glastonbury and he has heard of it. "Do you want me to play there tomorrow?" he joked before insisting he was "concentrating on these shows in London, I don't know what's happening after". To which I asked "That's not a no though?", to which he said, "No!"
  • 12. He's looking at recording all the shows he does in London. He loves the new record, but live "is a different thing" with these musicians. "There's a certain feeling that we get when we play - this is perfection. This is just perfect." He said their relationship is "friends first" and they don't have any contracts; "They're not signed to me and I'm not signed to them. This is the way it always should have been. I've had my issues with labels in the past, but that all happened for a reason."
  • 13. Legend says that every room in his famous Paisley Park recording studio complex is wired for sound - the hallway, the bathroom, the bedrooms - so that wherever he is in the building he can just start recording if he feels like it. Sadly, this isn't true.
  • 14. But there is a huge amount of unreleased music in the Paisley Park vaults - and there's a treasure trove of old recordings to which he owns the rights that may see the light of day. He'd rather people wait to hear that than listen to bootlegs. "When you hear something [on bootleg] you're just hearing something that's not finished," he explained. "A song from 1985 might come out in 2021. I have a whole organisation who look after stuff."
  • 15. There was a story last week saying he was taking a $22m (£13m) legal action against 22 internet users who allegedly posted copies of his live performances online. In response to that he simply said "Nobody sues their fans", before adding: "I have some bootlegs of Lianne [La Havas] but I wouldn't sell them. But fans sharing music with each other, that's cool."
  • 16. On his last trip to London he did record some songs. "Bryan Ferry let us use his studio very kindly, we went there," he explained. "I was listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins at the time."
  • 17. He loves ping pong. He and his band play a lot of ping pong on tour. Prince is apparently VERY good at ping pong. But of course he is. He's Prince.

Love wins. (Seen on bumpersticker)
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Reply #1 posted 02/05/14 7:25am

RodeoSchro

11. I asked him about Glastonbury and he has heard of it. "Do you want me to play there tomorrow?" he joked before insisting he was "concentrating on these shows in London, I don't know what's happening after". To which I asked "That's not a no though?", to which he said, "No!"

ZOMG, here come the endless "Is Prince Playing Glastonbury This Year?" threads

15. There was a story last week saying he was taking a $22m (£13m) legal action against 22 internet users who allegedly posted copies of his live performances online. In response to that he simply said "Nobody sues their fans", before adding: "I have some bootlegs of Lianne [La Havas] but I wouldn't sell them. But fans sharing music with each other, that's cool."

eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek eek

.

[Edited 2/5/14 7:26am]

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Reply #2 posted 02/05/14 7:30am

ludwig

He's lying to save his ass. What a hypocrite. I knew these sites, and most of them shared all the stuff for free. One of them even promoted this with the line "Never pay for bootlegs". But still he sued them. If he were honest and said I don't want fans to share my stuff at all I could respect him, but instead he's talking lies.

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Reply #3 posted 02/05/14 7:32am

thedance

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rozilla said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26045864

  • 15. In response to that he simply said "Nobody sues their fans", before adding: "I have some bootlegs of Lianne [La Havas] but I wouldn't sell them. But fans sharing music with each other, that's cool."

^ just: who said that, because it sure wasn't Prince.. eek lol

he gotta be mis-quoted by BBC... there...???????

[Edited 2/5/14 7:32am]

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #4 posted 02/05/14 7:32am

SuperSoulFight
er

You gotta love this guy! Purple Rain 30 years ago? Didn't even realise... Hopefully that will finally put a stop to all the babbling about remasters and reissues that's going on here...
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Reply #5 posted 02/05/14 7:42am

NouveauDance

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We've heard it all before. He can get round it by saying "these people aren't my fans".

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Reply #6 posted 02/05/14 7:43am

thedance

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wth...

why is this thread moved to "Concerts",

This is no concerts thread.....

It's an interview.... isn't it..

move it back to P: Music & More... question

[Edited 2/5/14 7:43am]

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #7 posted 02/05/14 7:53am

rozilla

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I had to re-read the part about not suing fans.

Love wins. (Seen on bumpersticker)
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Reply #8 posted 02/05/14 7:54am

CandaceS

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rozilla said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26045864

  • 15. There was a story last week saying he was taking a $22m (£13m) legal action against 22 internet users who allegedly posted copies of his live performances online. In response to that he simply said "Nobody sues their fans", before adding: "I have some bootlegs of Lianne [La Havas] but I wouldn't sell them. But fans sharing music with each other, that's cool."


.

rolleyes WTF is this bullshit he's spewing?

.

$10 tickets in small venues?

"I would say that Prince's top thirty percent is great. Of that thirty percent, I'll bet the public has heard twenty percent of it." - Susan Rogers, "Hunting for Prince's Vault", BBC, 2015
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Reply #9 posted 02/05/14 7:54am

rozilla

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thedance said:

wth...

why is this thread moved to "Concerts",

This is no concerts thread.....

It's an interview.... isn't it..

move it back to P: Music & More... question

[Edited 2/5/14 7:43am]

I have no idea why it was moved? This isn't a concert review it is an interview.

Love wins. (Seen on bumpersticker)
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Reply #10 posted 02/05/14 9:34am

RodeoSchro

ludwig said:

He's lying to save his ass. What a hypocrite. I knew these sites, and most of them shared all the stuff for free. One of them even promoted this with the line "Never pay for bootlegs". But still he sued them. If he were honest and said I don't want fans to share my stuff at all I could respect him, but instead he's talking lies.


Let me throw out the optimistic way of looking at this. We know Prince dropped his suit. Is it possible he got bad/no information on the defendants before filing the suit? Is it possible these defendants were identified by someone other than Prince, and Prince relied on information provided by someone that was predjudiced or uninformed? Is it possible that he sued some people without knowing they weren't actually selling his stuff?

Is it possible he dropped it after he found out those people weren't selling his stuff, but rather sharing it?

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Reply #11 posted 02/05/14 9:38am

lwr001

for the record he sued 22 entities that offered bootlegs rightly or wrongly. was anyone on here sued? Just curious!

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Reply #12 posted 02/05/14 10:19am

ludwig

RodeoSchro said:

ludwig said:

He's lying to save his ass. What a hypocrite. I knew these sites, and most of them shared all the stuff for free. One of them even promoted this with the line "Never pay for bootlegs". But still he sued them. If he were honest and said I don't want fans to share my stuff at all I could respect him, but instead he's talking lies.


Let me throw out the optimistic way of looking at this. We know Prince dropped his suit. Is it possible he got bad/no information on the defendants before filing the suit? Is it possible these defendants were identified by someone other than Prince, and Prince relied on information provided by someone that was predjudiced or uninformed? Is it possible that he sued some people without knowing they weren't actually selling his stuff?

Is it possible he dropped it after he found out those people weren't selling his stuff, but rather sharing it?

Oh yes of course. Prince is a genius and can't do nothing wrong. It's never his fault when something bad happens.

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Reply #13 posted 02/05/14 11:19am

RodeoSchro

ludwig said:

RodeoSchro said:


Let me throw out the optimistic way of looking at this. We know Prince dropped his suit. Is it possible he got bad/no information on the defendants before filing the suit? Is it possible these defendants were identified by someone other than Prince, and Prince relied on information provided by someone that was predjudiced or uninformed? Is it possible that he sued some people without knowing they weren't actually selling his stuff?

Is it possible he dropped it after he found out those people weren't selling his stuff, but rather sharing it?

Oh yes of course. Prince is a genius and can't do nothing wrong. It's never his fault when something bad happens.


I wouldn't know about that but I do know there are two sides to every story.

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Reply #14 posted 02/05/14 11:23am

RodeoSchro

lwr001 said:

for the record he sued 22 entities that offered bootlegs rightly or wrongly. was anyone on here sued? Just curious!


IIRC, he sued 2 individuals and 20 Facebook accounts.

I have no idea if Facebook would have ever given up whatever personal info they had on those 20 accounts. It's entirely possible Facebook had no personal info on them at all.

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Reply #15 posted 02/05/14 11:47am

lwr001

RodeoSchro said:

lwr001 said:

for the record he sued 22 entities that offered bootlegs rightly or wrongly. was anyone on here sued? Just curious!


IIRC, he sued 2 individuals and 20 Facebook accounts.

I have no idea if Facebook would have ever given up whatever personal info they had on those 20 accounts. It's entirely possible Facebook had no personal info on them at all.

anyhow 2 people and 20 FB accounts does not a fan base make

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Reply #16 posted 02/06/14 1:59pm

luv4u

Moderator

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moderator

rozilla said:

thedance said:

wth...

why is this thread moved to "Concerts",

This is no concerts thread.....

It's an interview.... isn't it..

move it back to P: Music & More... question

[Edited 2/5/14 7:43am]

I have no idea why it was moved? This isn't a concert review it is an interview.



Moving back to P: M&M

canada

Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture!
REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince
"I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben
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Reply #17 posted 02/06/14 3:44pm

babynoz

All I wanna know is why every time I see this mofo I gotta pay thru the nose and other people can get reasonable ticket prices? rolleyes

Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise.
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Reply #18 posted 02/06/14 3:54pm

nursev

babynoz said:

All I wanna know is why every time I see this mofo I gotta pay thru the nose and other people can get reasonable ticket prices? rolleyes



my question too...that shit aint right. he hates his US fans lol
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Reply #19 posted 02/06/14 3:56pm

nursev

you know how many shots and enemas i have to give to pay for two Prince tickets-that shit is definitely wrong lol
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Reply #20 posted 02/06/14 4:34pm

babynoz

nursev said:

you know how many shots and enemas i have to give to pay for two Prince tickets-that shit is definitely wrong lol



nod

Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise.
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Reply #21 posted 02/06/14 7:30pm

lezama

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I knew he liked the Cocteau Twins, but to have been listening to them the last time he was in london is pretty recent... I would love to hear him do something Cocteau like!!! Just to see what it'd sound like. He should write something for Liz Fraser.. although I doubt she'd agree to work with him because of her immense shyness.

Change it one more time..
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Reply #22 posted 02/09/14 3:28am

Dazza

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lezama said:

I knew he liked the Cocteau Twins, but to have been listening to them the last time he was in london is pretty recent... I would love to hear him do something Cocteau like!!! Just to see what it'd sound like. He should write something for Liz Fraser.. although I doubt she'd agree to work with him because of her immense shyness.

I wish!

I've been waiting 17 years for an album from Liz Fraser. Prince could knock somwthing out in a week

Green virgin teenager, or filthy rich yuppy. Pussy cat pussy cat, where for out thou puppy
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